This webinar is being delivered in partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific.
The emergency department plays a vital role in the early recognition and management of patients with suspected infection, where timely diagnosis supports improved patient outcomes, appropriate antimicrobial prescribing, and efficient patient flow. This webinar will examine the latest evidence on the use of in vitro diagnostics (IVDs), including biomarkers, in the adult emergency department, bringing together experts in infectious disease, clinical microbiology, and emergency medicine.
Drawing on current research, clinical case discussions, and shared best practice, the session will demonstrate how a multidisciplinary approach can support rapid clinical decision-making, patient stratification, and the effective integration of diagnostic testing into routine emergency care.
The speakers will be Professor Neil French, Professor of Infectious Diseases and Global Health at the University of Liverpool and Chief Investigator of PRONTO Trial, Professor Kordo Saeed, consultant medical microbiologist at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, and Dr Alina Paunescu, consultant in emergency medicine and Trust Sepsis Lead, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. This event will be chaired by Dr Noha El Sakka OBE, RCPath Vice President for Communications.
A Q&A will follow the talks.
This webinar is part of a series being delivered by the College in partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific. The other webinars in the series are:
- Managing sepsis and severe infection in adult intensive care: integrating diagnostics into clinical decision-making (16 September, 12:30pm BST)
- Implementing diagnostic strategies for infection management: optimising antimicrobial prescribing in clinical practice (17 September, 12:30pm BST)
This event will take place at 12:30pm and last approximately 1 hour.
Our speakers
Professor Kordo Saeed
Prof Saeed is a consultant clinical microbiologist and lead for the bacteriology laboratory at University Hospitals Southampton NHS Trust, and an honorary professor at the University of Southampton School of Medicine. His interests include biomarkers as antimicrobial stewardship and/ or disease progression tools in clinical practice, ICU-related infections and sepsis, ortho-spinal-related infections and health links. He is the chair of the Rapid Diagnostics & Biomarker Working Group of the International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
Dr Alina Paunescu
Dr Alina Paunescu is an emergency medicine consultant and the Trust Sepsis Clinical Lead at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB). Based at the Royal Derby Hospital, she is a leading voice in sepsis advocacy, early identification, and pathway standardisation. Dr Paunescu has presented her innovative, cross-provider sepsis care models at major international forums. She is a member of RCPath through her Medical Examiner role and collaborates closely with UK Sepsis Trust to drive frontline response improvements and support patient recovery from sepsis.
For this webinar she leverages her dual expertise in emergency medicine and sepsis care to discuss the clinical utility, optimal thresholds, and rapid implementation of procalcitonin (PCT) biomarkers to enhance early sepsis management and antimicrobial stewardship within busy emergency department settings.
Our chair
Dr Noha El Sakka OBE
Dr El Sakka obtained a PhD in 2005 at the University of Aberdeen, followed by 2 years of post-doctoral research in the field of infection. Following completion of the FRCPath and Medical Microbiology training in 2015, Dr El Sakka was appointed a Consultant Microbiologist at NHS Grampian and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen. She held the role of Director of Medical Microbiology and Virology service in Grampian between 2017-2023, and is currently the Director of Laboratory service in Grampian.
She was appointed to various national roles including Specialist Advisor to Scotland CMO and to the Scottish Government (2018-23), Chair of the Scottish Clinical Virology Consultants Group and Chair of the Scottish Diagnostic Virology Group. In December 2021, she was also elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh.
In addition to her role as the RCPath Vice President for Communications, Dr El Sakka is also a member of the RCPath Scotland Regional Council and a member of the Joint Medical Microbiology and Virology Speciality Advisory Committee and is the RCPath country advisor for Egypt.
In June 2022, Dr El Sakka was awarded an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for her services to the NHS and the COVID-19 response.
